The Complex Journey of Civil Rights and Those Who Should Never Be Forgotten Civil rights are the rights of all people regardless of the color of their skin, religious affiliation, or gender. These are the rights guaranteed by the state, more specifically the federal, local and state governments. The struggle to achieve civil rights for all people has been a long and tumultuous journey. Many took a stand, and many lost their lives in the process. All in an effort to create a better more equal world for those of their time and the future. Though the United States is a very young nation compared to others around the world, it has had its share of a coloured past. From the time the United States became a nation, many of those who either fought …show more content…
The laws prohibiting others from living their lives to the fullest so that one can “sleep at night” is a violation of one’s civil rights. Approximately fifty plus years ago, Jim Crow laws were challenged in an effort to end segregation in schools. As one is reminded by Trowbridge when he discusses Brown v. Board case which deemed the ‘separate but equal’ law to be a violation of the 14th amendment. Being that this was issued by the US Supreme Court it immediately became a national law. The 1954 court decision changed the course of education for generations to come. Giving anyone regardless of the colour of their skin access to a quality education. This decision however was not met with open arms everywhere. In 1955 there was another law issued titled Brown II which consisted of a firm set of guidelines on how desegregation should be carried out. Though there was no timeline as to when desegregation should be seen in schools, it was another step in the right direction. A fight for the rights of the coloured man or woman for a better life. A fight which was also fought by many others along the way. One of which was Martin Luther King Jr. The son of a preacher, MLK used non-violence to fight for the injustices against the African American community to be rectified. He fought for equal pay, jobs and freedom for his people and any other non-white person. On April 16, 1963, after MLK had been arrested during a peaceful …show more content…
It is a part of one’s everyday life. Throughout the many phases of the civil rights movement, the role of a woman has been a controversial subject matter. As one understands through Trowbridge’s text, the Federal Government’s unwillingness to carry out the gender provisions as stated in the 1964 Civil Rights Act sparked a fire within women all over America. As a result, Betty Friedan became the president of NOW (National Organization for Women) which was founded in 1966. The main purpose of NOW was to improve the lives of women to challenge the discrimination they faced from employers and the federal government (Trowbridge). Women did their best to change the nation’s image of them for their present and future selves. They struggled to challenge the status quo of the chef, homemaker, and housewife. They were desperate to help create laws that supported their new ideologies. In the article titled, “Socialist Feminism: a Strategy for the Women's Movement” Chicago Women's Liberation Union educates us that in 1972, the Women’s Movement was struggling to blend two ideologies of the new woman. One emphasized personal liberation and growth whereas the other focused on how productive relations suppress the potentials of the modern day woman (Chicago Women’s 1972). When implementing drastic change compromise is key. Women sought to find a balance between the value of their reproductive duties and freeing oneself of societies gender duties and expectations.
These documents touch on important topics that a lot of Americans have a hard time understanding. Both The Civil Rights movement and Feminist Movement connect to mainstream liberalism, share parallel goals or differences, progressed in the 1970s, and still have an influence on American’s views to this day. Equal rights among all, is still something America is struggling with after about 50 years. There is no denying though, that the movements during the 60’s and 70’s molded the lives of future generations in the way that American’s view each other as human beings.
The “Feminine Mystique” is a highly influential book in the early second wave feminism movement. It is said that it helped shaped the demands of the second wave by insisting for the right to work outside the home, and to be paid equally; the right for reproductive freedom; the demand that women should not be expected to have children and be mothers if they do not want to. Betty Friedan addresses “the problem that has no name” which is the women who are highly educated, suburban housewives that are bored and want something “more” in their life. This is the point where women knew we needed a second wave. Women’s role had gone backwards and they were beginning to realize that they were all experiencing the same “problem that has no name”. “The
Civil rights refers to fighting for equal rights for all people and is an important part of history. From time to time, people have been fighting for civil rights for blacks in whites in the mid 1900’s. In fact, Bloody Sunday was probably one of the most important events to have an impact on history for civil rights. Everyday, people struggle to be treated equally and civil rights make it possible for everyone black or white to be treated equally. As a result of Bloody Sunday, this event helped blacks speak up and be heard.
Civil rights are freedoms and rights guaranteed to a member of a community, state, or nation. Freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and of fair and equal treatment is the basic civil rights. Black protestors like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King made many important speeches on TV that would have helped the nationwide campaign for civil rights. By putting their speeches on TV they are broadcasting their view on how blacks are being treated to a wider audience.
Friedan’s wave of feminism came after a lull. Sometime after women proudly took the vote with The Nineteenth Amendment, after they worked proudly in the place of their fighting husbands and brothers and sons, the first feminist movement quietly died down. During this lull “American women, with the ability and education to discover and create, [decided to] go back home again, to look for “something more” in housework and rearing children”. (Friedan , 121) Friedan asks why. She concludes that as young women were faced with their sex’s first opportunity to ...
Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
For many years after the Civil War many African-Americans did not truly enjoy the freedoms that were granted to them by the US constitution. This was especially true in the southern states, because segregation flourished in the south wwhere African-Americans were treated as second class citizens. This racial segregation was characterized by separation of different races in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. In addition, Blacks were not afforded justice and fair trials, such as the case of the murder of Emmet Till. This unjust treatment would not be tolerated in America any more, which spurred the civil rights movement.
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...
From 1950’s to the 1960’s it was a period of time that people began to fight for their civil rights. It was not until all these social reforms that started to develop was when women began to question if taking care of their homes was the only lifestyle they knew. Young women were beginning to want more and wanting to create a name for themselves. Betty Friedan illustrates in her book how a suburban wife struggles with everyday house chores by herself, and as she lays at night she questions if this is all she knows in her life. Friedan challenges the idea that women can receive a higher education and obtain positions in careers just like men. Friedan also challenges women femininity. For throughout history, women were taught about the separate
Civil rights law is an area of law that always seems to be at the forefront of the news and political discussions. Civil rights law largely protects individuals from discrimination, which is unfavorable treatment based on race, age, national origin, gender, and disability, for example. In some instances, discrimination based upon one’s sexual orientation is illegal. A major milestone in the civil rights movement was the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based upon certain characteristics illegal. Several other civil rights laws followed.
Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 60’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. Looking back on all the events, and dynamic figures it produced, this description is very vague. In order to fully understand the Civil Rights Movement, you have to go back to its origin. Most people believe that Rosa Parks began the whole civil rights movement. She did in fact propel the Civil Rights Movement to unprecedented heights but, its origin began in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the cornerstone for change in American History as a whole. Even before our nation birthed the controversial ruling on May 17, 1954 that stated separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, there was Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 that argued by declaring that state laws establish separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Some may argue that Plessy vs. Ferguson is in fact backdrop for the Civil Rights Movement, but I disagree. Plessy vs. Ferguson was ahead of it’s time so to speak. “Separate but equal” thinking remained the body of teachings in America until it was later reputed by Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and prompted The Montgomery Bus Boycott led by one of the most pivotal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. After the gruesome death of Emmett Till in 1955 in which the main suspects were acquitted of beating, shooting, and throwing the fourteen year old African American boy in the Tallahatchie River, for “whistling at a white woman”, this country was well overdo for change.
The America¬¬¬n Civil Rights movement was a movement in which African Americans were once slaves and over many generations fought in nonviolent means such as protests, sit-ins, boycotts, and many other forms of civil disobedience in order to receive equal rights as whites in society. The American civil rights movement never really had either a starting or a stopping date in history. However these African American citizens had remarkable courage to never stop, until these un-just laws were changed and they received what they had been fighting for all along, their inalienable rights as human beings and to be equal to all other human beings. Up until this very day there are still racial issues were some people feel supreme over other people due to race. That however is an issue that may never end.
The focus of The Women’s Liberation Movement was idealized off The Civil Rights Movement; it was founded on the elimination of discriminary practices and sexist attitudes (Freeman, 1995). Although by the 1960s women were responsible for one-third of the work force, despite the propaganda surrounding the movement women were still urged to “go back home.” However the movement continued to burn on, and was redeveloping a new attitude by the 1970s. The movement was headed by a new generation that was younger and more educated in politics and social actions. These young women not only challenged the gender role expectations, but drove the feminist agenda that pursued to free women from oppression and male authority and redistribute power and social good among the sexes (Baumgardner and Richards, 2000).
The rights of an individual to receive without being discriminated such as education, healthcare, employment and much more are all parts of having civil rights here in the United States. Civil rights have come a long way from the turn of the century, African Americans had very little rights compared to the rest of the people. African Americans lived in an unequal world filled with discrimination, segregation, and many different types of oppression. African